Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

The following short, inspirational story illustrates clearly both the potential that lies within each and every one of us and the meaning of the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover." These beautiful words remind us not to move to judgment quickly, but rather to seek potential even in those many others have given up on. For other highly inspirational stories and resources, click here.

Broken Wing: Don't Judge a Book by Its CoverBy
Jim Hullihan

Some
people are just doomed to be failures. That's the way some adults look at
troubled kids. Maybe you've heard the saying, "A bird with a broken wing
will never fly as high." I'm sure that T. J. Ware was made to feel this
way almost every day in school.

By high school, T. J. was the most celebrated
troublemaker in his town. Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name
posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. He wasn't very
talkative, didn't answer questions and got into lots of fights. He had
flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was
being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to
have him again the following year. T. J. was moving on, but definitely not
moving up.

I met T. J. for the first time at a weekend
leadership retreat. All the students at school had been invited to sign up
for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in
their communities. T. J. was one of 405 students who signed up.

When I showed
up to lead their first retreat, the community leaders gave me this overview
of the attending students: "We have a total spectrum represented today,
from the student body president to T. J. Ware, the boy with the longest
arrest record in the history of town." Somehow, I knew that I wasn't the
first to hear about T. J.'s darker side as the first words of introduction.

At the start of the retreat, T. J. was literally
standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that
"go ahead, impress me" look on his face. He didn't readily join the
discussion groups, didn't seem to have much to say. But slowly, the
interactive games drew him in.

The ice really melted when the groups started
building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school
that year. T. J. had some definite thoughts on those situations. The other
students in T. J.'s group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden T. J. felt
like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. T.
J. was a smart guy, and he had some great ideas.

The next day, T. J. was very active in all the
sessions. By the end of the retreat, he had joined the Homeless Project team.
He knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students
on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They
elected T. J. co-chairman of the team. The student council president would be
taking his instruction from T. J. Ware.

When T. J. showed up at school on Monday morning,
he arrived to a firestorm. A group of teachers were protesting to the school
principal about his being elected co-chairman. The very first communitywide
service project was to be a giant food drive, organized by the Homeless
Project team. These teachers couldn't believe that the principal would allow
this crucial beginning to a prestigious, three-year action plan to stay in
the incapable hands of T. J. Ware.

They reminded the principal, "He has an
arrest record as long as your arm. He'll probably steal half the food."
Mr. Coggshall reminded them that the purpose of the ACE program was to
uncover any positive passion that a student had and reinforce its practice
until true change can take place. The teachers left the meeting shaking their
heads in disgust, firmly convinced that failure was imminent.

Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a
group of 70 students in a drive to collect food. They collected a school
record: 2,854 cans of food in just two hours. It was enough to fill the empty
shelves in two neighborhood centers, and the food took care of needy families
in the area for 75 days.

The local newspaper covered the event with a
full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main
bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. T. J.'s picture was up
there for doing something great, for leading a record-setting food drive.
Every day he was reminded about what he did. He was being acknowledged as
leadership material.

T.
J. started showing up at school every day and answered questions from teachers
for the first time. He led a second project, collecting 300 blankets and
1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter. The event he started now
yields 9,000 cans of food in one day, taking care of 70 percent of the need
for food for one year.

T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only
needs mending. But once it has healed, it can fly higher than the rest.
T. J. got a job. He became productive. He is flying quite nicely these days.

Note: This story showing so well how it is best not to judge a book by its cover is taken from the inspiring book series Chicken Soup for the Soul. For other inspiring short stories like this, click here.